When the Shiji, 'Treatise on the Heavenly Offices,' says: 'The brightest star of the Pole Star asterism in the Central Palace is the constant abode of the Supreme One,' it is referring to the second star of the North Pole asterism.

25) Historical accounts from the early Han dynasty are quite explicit that the preceding Qin dynasty capital of Xianyang [TEXT NOT REPRODUCIBLE IN ASCII] contained elements of astral symbolism implying that the emperor's palace was in the position of the pole star relative to the constellations and the Milky Way.

No star is located exactly at either celestial pole, but the Pole Star is not far from the north celestial pole, making a small orbit about it once every twenty-four hours.

To identify the positions of the Pole Star on its daily orbit around the celestial pole and to correct them to the position of minimum altitude, zero bashi, on the observer's meridian, they used the Lunar Mansions, twenty-eight groups of stars through which the moon passes successively on its monthly path around the earth.

The researchers found that when the planetarium simulated the sky viewed from Aarhus, with stars rotating around the true position of the Pole Star, infrared sensors revealed that the birds jumped in a south-south-westerly direction.

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